1.31.2000 ET

(CSRwire) New York City residents who use their American Express® Cards to make purchases at any local New York City merchant, or to purchase travel into or out of New York City on Continental Airlines, can now help to raise money to improve libraries in New York City elementary and middle schools.* As part of the program -- which begins February 1 and runs through May 31 -- American Express and Continental will donate a portion of each of these transactions toward New York City public schools, up to $500,000. Schools targeted as recipients of the funds are located in all five boroughs and have been identified by the Board of Education of the City of New York as having low reading scores and in great need of library resources.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest cause-related program directed by private enterprise toward the New York City schools -- and we are delighted to be the recipient of these much-needed resources,” said Chancellor Harold Levy, the Board of Education of the City of New York.

“It is vital to us and to all New Yorkers that we help educate our youth so they can help us be successful in the next century,” said Curt Bourg, hub vice president, Continental Airlines. “As a major employer in the region, with more than 11,000 employees locally, we’re proud to contribute to this pool of future talent that makes the Big Apple a great place to do business.”

“American Express has a long history of supporting the communities in which its employees and customers work and live,” said Rob Rosenblatt, senior vice president and general manager, Travel Industries, American Express. “Through this cause-related effort, we can now further extend that commitment by providing books and software titles to New York City public schools that need them most.”

Continental and American Express announced their pledge to New York City public schools this fall as part of Continental’s commitment to NYC 2000, the Mayor’s Office for the Millennium, which is in charge of New York City’s millennium-related events. At that time, Continental and American Express also announced that they had created the Continental/American Express NYC 2000 Millennium Scholarship. Each year, beginning in 2000, the scholarship fund will award fifty scholarships of $2000 each to students who have demonstrated superior academic and community achievement. The program is open to graduating seniors throughout the city who attend high schools that have been identified by the Board of Education as in need of significant improvement in student performance.

About Continental

Continental is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 130 domestic and 85 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland, Continental has extensive service throughout the Americas, and to Europe and Asia. Continental is in the top half of Fortune magazine’s, “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” and has won first or second place FrequentFlyer magazine and J.D. Power awards for the four consecutive years. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Conde Nast Traveler, OAG Official Airline Guides, Entrepreneur and Smart Money magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer’s Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Air Transport World’s 1997 Airline of the Year).

About NYC 2000

NYC 2000, the Mayor’s Office for the Millennium, was established through an Executive Order on December 28, 1998 by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to ensure New York City’s millennium celebrations are befitting of the world’s financial and cultural center through Janurary 1, 2001. NYC 2000 events have ranged from an Arbor Day planting of 2,000 trees in City Parks to a fashion show in Times Square to New Year’s Eve celebrations throughout the five boroughs. For more information on NYC 2000, please click here.

American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a world leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, business services, insurance and international banking.


*American Express and Continental will donate up to $500,000 based on 1 cent for every purchase on an eligible Card by a NYC resident in NYC’s 5 boroughs and for every flight they purchase in and out of the NY area (LGA, EWR, Islip) on Continental. Donations are not tax deductible for Cardmembers. Donations will be made to New Visions for Public Schools, Inc., a nonprofit organization selected by the Board of Education to help school libraries.